Ferguson knows United are underdogs – but will they fight or cede ground?

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Alex Ferguson has revealed that he expects the Manchester derby this weekend to be a very cagey affair.

United are considered the underdogs by various sections of the media and supporters but both teams are experiencing different problems; United are struggling to defend while City are struggling to maintain any sort of consistency.

Sir Alex Ferguson said beating Manchester City the way the side is currently playing would be a major scalp which would see United move six points clear at the top of the league. They have conceded 21 goals in their league games this season.

Ferguson told MUTV:

“If we win it will be one of our best ever results. They are a really good, powerful team with massive players.

It won’t be easy and if we defend like we did at Reading we’ll be in trouble.

The important thing for us is to take lessons from the mistakes we’re making and do something about it. We need to find a solution.”

City remain one of the only unbeaten teams around Europe and they have been solid at home in the league this season. However, they can hardly be considered the odds on favourites because they have struggled against every major team they have played at home this year.

They could not beat Arsenal at home, they should have lost against Borussia Dortmund, they drew with Ajax and Real Madrid, just managed to get over the line against Tottenham and drew against Everton in a match they should have lost.

It will be a cagey match because Sir Alex Ferguson won’t want his side to go out all guns blazing because of the early goals they have conceded in recent league games.

This effectively guarantees that United will sit back during the early part of the game, soak up pressure and try to exploit a far from perfect City defence on the counter attack.

It’s not set up to be a classic match because both tams are struggling in different areas but the importance of this derby has never been more significant.